Ch. 44.2 – The friends filled their bowls with hot vegetable stew and sat down at the kitchen table. A fire crackled in the fireplace, warming the room. As the others chatted, Janine ate silently. She was overwhelmed by everything that had happened. At last she looked up from her meal.
“I should have died when Eli tried to kill me, and I shouldn’t have been able to wake up Ezra. How did I do it?”
Felix licked his paws and washed the stew from his face. “Old Bob gave you a fey protection that keeps you safe from almost every kind of monster or bad magic.”
Col beamed at Janine. “And don’t forget that I gifted you with power over life and death for three different occasions. Eli’s sword counts as one. I think kissing Ezra awake counts as another.”
Janine glanced over at Ezra. She didn’t want to think about the emotions that shone in his eyes. “What do you think happened to my real sister?”
Bee looked at her in sympathy. “I suspect that she is either a captive of the trolls, or she is dead. Zelda took her place very early.”
Janine’s heart hurt as she thought about Mary, lost so many years ago.
Ezra took another piece of bread. “How did Zelda come to have such powerful magic? Trolls don’t have much magic as a general rule. They rely on brute strength.”
“Based on Zelda’s abilities, I suspect that she is a troll-fey hybrid.” Col raised an eyebrow and glanced over at Felix.
Felix flicked his ears. “Don’t look at me. I don’t know their plans. I was banned from the fey lands many years ago.”
Felix then described the scene in the castle. Trolls marched the halls, disguised as humans. The Queen was hidden, and the King was on his death bed. Prince Eli was only free of his enchantment for one short hour each night. Princess Zelda had commanded a great feast to announce their betrothal. The main dish would be roast pig. She had sent the huntsmen into the eastern Tulgey Woods to find and kill three boars.
Ezra looked sick. “Eli will never be able to forgive himself if he eats his brothers, even if he is enchanted.”
Mr. Dumfries put down his cup. “If we’re going to rescue them in time, we’ll need Jay’s help.”
Janine thought of poor Jay, frozen in the front hall. “If only we had some dragon’s tears.”
Col turned to the cat. “Felix, you could get us some.”
“Just in case you hadn’t noticed, the only available dragon is now a block of salt.”
“Ah, but you can travel through time,” Ezra said.
Felix lashed his tail and hissed at Ezra. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“You’re always quoting things that I’ve never heard of, and I am very well read. You’ve helped me more than once on my inventions, which no one in this age has heard of, giving me just enough helpful hints to make them work.”
Janine gasped. “That’s right. You said, T.V. was something that wouldn’t be invented for hundreds of years. How would you know that unless…”
Ezra stared at the cat. “You appear and disappear at will. You travel long distances in the blink of an eye. You’re extremely intelligent. You can talk. I bet there isn’t much that you can’t do.”
Felix’s whiskers trembled. “Well… so what?”
Ezra leaned forward. “You could go back to a time when Jay was crying, collect a vial full of tears, and bring it back.”
Col leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “That would do the trick.”
Felix yowled and crouched low. “You don’t understand. I am under constraints. I can only…”
Janine held a strawberry tart in front of Felix’s nose.
“Sorry, even strawberry tarts can’t tempt me for this one. Think of the danger. The complicated math involved. The punishment when he finds out.” His whiskers drooped.
“I’ll find a way to free you,” Janine said.
“What?”
“If you help us, I will find a way to free you from your curse.”
Felix stared at her. “You’re a very nice little girl, and you’ve always been very good to me, but you don’t understand who you’re up against.”
Bee got up and put her arms around the cat. “Felix, you’ve been so lonely all these years. All you’ve ever wanted was a family who loved you and a place to call home. Instead, you were disowned, cursed, and cast out. Look around: we’re your true friends. We care about you. Don’t you think it’s time to trust someone?”
The cat trembled. “I want to.”
“Then take the first step.”
Janine waited, hardly daring to breath.
At last Felix cat nodded. “Very well. I will help you.”
Bee kissed his head and handed him a slim glass bottle. “Good for you. Now go get us some dragon tears.”
Carol Nicolas 